Method and system for selecting and purchasing media advertising

ABSTRACT

The subject invention is directed to a method and system for selecting and purchasing media advertising in a user/server environment accessed through a Web site. The method includes accessing a server system through a Web site by an advertiser in which the advertiser provides information relating to buying criteria and customer data through a form on the Web page in order to select and purchase media advertising. The server system receives and processes the information in order to create at least one media advertising rate request. The server system transmits the rate request to at least one media outlet for processing. The media outlet processes the rate request and transmits the processed rate request to the server system. The server system manipulates the processed rate request to create a media advertising schedule and then transmits the advertising schedule to the advertiser. The advertiser receives the schedule, makes a media advertising purchase decision and transmits the purchase decision back to the server system. Thereafter, the server system transmits the media advertising purchase decision to the media outlet for reserving the purchased advertising.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a computer method and systemfor selecting and purchasing media advertising and more particularly toa method and system for selecting and purchasing media advertisingthrough a user/server environment accessed through a Web site.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditional media outlets, such as newspaper, outdoor and broadcastmedia such as radio, television and cable stations/networks, have asystem for selling advertising space and time to purchasers. Thesepurchasers are generally separated into two distinct media purchasercategories, advertising agencies and direct advertisers. In terms ofpricing, advertising space is traditionally offered to advertisingagencies at a discount and to direct advertisers at no discount.Additionally, this also reduces costs for the advertising agenciesbecause they have the ability to negotiate for advertising space or timefrom the advantage of having an analytical process for evaluating thevalue and efficiencies of the media being purchased. Particularly forbroadcast media advertising, the direct advertiser lacks anunderstanding of the price/value considerations necessary to negotiate alower pricing level for the purchase of advertising media. As a result,direct advertisers generally incur higher unit costs for theiradvertising space and time than the advertising agencies.

Although media outlets typically have access to analytical data toevaluate the efficiencies of their advertising, for example thecost-per-spot, it is not advantageous to disclose this information tothe general public because it would lead the direct advertiser tocompetitors with better, more efficient rates. More importantly however,is the fact that the direct advertiser lacks full comprehension of suchdata.

Currently, an advertiser that does not use the professional services ofan advertising agency, e.g. a direct advertiser, is left to its ownjudgment about media selection, negotiating and buying the advertising,and the creative execution for each advertising dollar. Evaluating mediaselection and assessing rates and proper spending levels, whileparticipating in creative commercial development, can be an awesome taskfor the direct advertiser. When a direct advertiser contacts any of theabove-described media outlet choices, many factors will influence theform of media they choose for advertising their business. Directadvertisers will not know whether they have made the right local mediaoutlet choices or have scheduled an adequate frequency of advertisingmessages. They will also not know if the advertising rates they paidwere too high or if the total time commitment was too much or notenough. Few of these direct advertisers are qualified to effectivelyevaluate media selection and its cost or to develop properly craftedcommercial messages.

When an advertising agency is involved in the traditional media-buyingprocess, the advertising agency contacts the media outlet to requestrate(s) or rate(s) with schedule(s) for one or more particular mediaadvertising choices (newspaper, outdoor, TV, cable, radio or anycombination of these). The selected media outlet sends the rate(s) orrate(s) with schedule(s) to the advertising agency which then negotiateswith the media outlet for better rate(s). The advertising agency sends asecond request, based on the new negotiated rate(s), to the media outletwhich then sends adjusted rate(s) and schedule(s), based on the new(second) request, back to the advertising agency. After the advertisingagency receives the adjusted rate(s) and schedule(s) from the mediaoutlet and gets its client's approval, the advertisement(s) is placedwith the media outlet by the advertising agency.

If a direct advertiser is involved in the media-buying process, theadvertiser contacts the media outlet directly, which sends a salespersonto meet with the advertiser. After the salesperson has receivedinformation relating to the direct advertiser's needs, he/she returns tothe media outlet with a request for rate(s) and schedule(s). Thesalesperson returns to the advertiser's office to present rate(s) andschedule(s) prepared by the media outlet. These rate(s) and schedule(s)can be negotiated a number of times or not at all before the salespersonturns in an advertising order to the media outlet.

Advertising agencies typically use a number of media software programsfor analyzing the pricing and effectiveness of broadcast mediaadvertising. A known radio analysis software program is TAPSCAN® thatuses various databases in order to evaluate and generate scheduling andposting options. TAPSCAN's reports can include prebuy research includingfrequency-based tables, cost-per-point analysis, hour-by-hour andtrending; scheduling adjustments for local and national consumer data,automatic scheduling and goal tracking, and optimal scheduling of dayparts. A known analysis software program for the television and cablemarket is TVSCAN® that produces similar reports for the television andcable market. Another software program, available from ScarboroughResearch, provides qualitative data relating to media usage, retailshopping, demographics, lifestyle activities, and other consumerbehaviors for sixty six local markets. Other media buying software isavailable from SMARTPLUS™, Strata Software, COREMedia Systems, Inc.,Telmar, and SQAD™ for television and SPARC^(SM) for radio, which bothprovide cost per point data by market.

Since the proliferation of Internet based companies, a number ofweb-based advertising or media-buying service companies have becomeavailable. These companies can be classified into three separate groups.One group provides content-related Web sites that provide updatedlistings of broadcast stations, newspapers and magazines and theircontact information. A second group consists of the Web sites oftraditional advertising agencies and media-buying shat serve primarilyas an online brochure for these companies. A third group consists ofonline media brokerage, consignment and exchange services that attemptto bring media buyers and sellers together via the Internet, therebyadding another layer between the buyer and seller. This third group isspecifically directed to advertising agencies and media buying firms.

One example of an online media buying company is AdOutlet.com that usesan inventory replenishment system that posts a limited number of printand broadcast inventory on its site. Once the inventory is sold to thehighest bidder, AdOutlet.com posts another set of available mediainventory and the process is repeated. Another web-based company isOneMediaPlace.com that allows buyers to either purchase or bid onavailable media from a limited number of participating sellers. Theinventory is sold on consignment through an auction process as well asset-price purchases. Most of the inventory on this site comes fromonline suppliers rather than traditional media outlets. OneMediaPlacealso offers a platform in which buyers submit requests for proposals forbroadcast media advertising and the site matches the requests withparticipating sellers.

Another web-based company, BuyMedia.com, serves primarily as abroker/fax service between agency buyers and broadcast media outlets.This site provides open-ended transactions between buyers and sellers inwhich a broadcast media purchase is negotiated and finalized between thebuyers and the sellers. BroadcastSpots.com is an online media servicethat offers unsold broadcast inventory to media buyers at discountedrates. BroadcastSpots.com serves as a catalog by posting remnant mediainventory and rates for buyers. BroadcastSpots.com also has a systemthat forwards a buyer's request for proposal to the broadcast mediaoutlets that is similar to the service provided by OneMediaPlace.com.

It would be advantageous to provide direct advertisers with a method andsystem for selecting and purchasing traditional media advertising overthe Internet. It would also be advantageous to provide a system in whichdirect advertisers can access technical and analytical data that hasbeen converted to a simplified rating system thus allowing them to makeindependent, accurate and informed decisions about their mediapurchases.

It would be further advantageous to provide a system that reduces thetime required for the media buying process, that expands theadvertiser's media outlet choices, improves scheduling options, andstreamlines the complete transaction between media outlet andadvertiser.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The subject invention is directed to a method and system for selectingand purchasing media advertising in a user/server environment accessedthrough a Web site. The method includes accessing a server systemthrough a Web site by an advertiser in which the advertiser providesinformation relating to buying criteria and customer data through a formon the Web page in order to select and purchase media advertising. Theserver system receives and processes the information in order to createat least one media advertising rate request. The server system transmitsthe rate request to at least one media outlet for processing. The mediaoutlet processes the rate request and transmits the processed raterequest to the server system. The server system manipulates theprocessed rate request to create a media advertising schedule and thentransmits the advertising schedule to the advertiser. The advertiserreceives the schedule, makes a media advertising purchase decision andtransmits the purchase decision back to the server system. Thereafter,the server system transmits the media advertising purchase decision tothe media outlet for reserving the purchased advertising.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will become more apparent when the detailed description ofthe exemplary embodiments is considered in conjunction with the appendeddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating the system for selecting andpurchasing media advertising of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the routine to set up a newaccount;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the routine for the orderinitiation;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the routine for the outletsubmission;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the routine for the schedulecreation;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the routine for the rating system;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the routine for the advertiserschedule confirmation and media outlet schedule acceptance;

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrates a Smart Form for use with the subject invention;and

FIG. 9 illustrates a Simplified Rating System Chart for use with thesubject invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to more fully understand the subject invention, below is a listof definitions that are used in the media advertising industry. Aglossary of terms and abbreviation for television is as follows:

Frequency—the average number of times a household or a person viewed agiven television program, station or commercial during a specific timeperiod. Frequency is calculated by dividing the GRPs by the Reach

Rating (RTG)—the estimate of the size of a television audience relativeto the total universe, expressed as a percentage. Rating is calculatedby the number of households viewing a certain channel divided by thetotal TV households.

Reach (Cume)—the number of different or unduplicated households orpersons that are exposed to a television program or commercial at leastonce during the average week for a reported time period.

Share—the percentage of households using television (HUT) or personsusing television (PUT) which are tuned to a specific program or stationat a specific time. Households using television is calculated by thenumber of households using TV divided by the total number of TVhouseholds. Share is determined by the households viewing a certainchannel divided by households using TV.

A glossary of terms and abbreviation for radio is as follows:

Average Quarter-Hour (AQH) Persons—the average number of personslistening to a particular station for at least five minutes during a15-minute period.

Average Quarter-Hour (AQH) Rating—the AQH Persons estimate expressed asa percentage of the population being measured and calculated by dividingthe AQH Persons by the population multiplied by a hundred.

Cost Per Point—the cost of achieving a number of impressions equivalentto one percent of the population in a given demographic group and iscalculated by dividing the cost of schedule by the gross rating points.Cost for point is also the average cost of one GRP in a given schedule.

Daypart—a part of the day recognized by the industry to identify timeperiods of radio listening, e.g., Saturday—6:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. orMonday-Friday 7:00 p.m-Mid.

Frequency—the average number of times a person is exposed to a radiospot schedule and is calculated by dividing the gross impressions by thenet reach or by dividing the Gross Rating Points by the Reach ofschedule (Rating).

Gross Rating Points (GRPs)—the total number of rating points achievedfor a particular spot schedule and is determined by multiplying thenumber of AQH persons times the number of spots in an advertisingschedule divided by the population or multiplying the AQH rating timesthe number of spots in an advertising schedule.

Reach—identifies the estimated number of different people reached by aschedule. It is the unduplicated audience a station delivers. Reach canbe expressed either as different persons or as rating.

The subject invention is directed to a method and system for selectingand purchasing media advertising in a client/server environment accessedthrough a Web site as illustrated in FIG. 1. The media advertisingselection and purchasing method and system, the “System” 100, interfacessmall to medium size business advertisers 101 with media outlets 103 inorder to streamline the process of purchasing media advertising.Information is transmitted between a client or user system, e.g. anadvertiser (direct advertiser or advertising agency) and a media outlet,and a server system. The server system contains the System 100 thatembodies the present invention and the user system accesses the serverSystem 100 through a Web site. The invention also provides a method bywhich direct advertisers can access technical and analytical data thathas been converted to a simplified rating system. The System usesstatistics from third party data providers in the generation of dataanalysis and schedules that will assist the advertisers in theiradvertising purchase decisions. It also calculates the efficiency of anyparticular advertising program generated. The System also generates asimplified rating system for each particular schedule that allowsadvertisers to make independent, accurate and informed decisions abouttheir media advertising purchases. The present invention allows thedirect advertiser to select the media outlets that reach its customersat the most efficient cost.

The System 100 generally has two types of users: the advertiser 101 andthe media outlets 103. The System provides for the selection andpurchase of advertising from five different types of advertising media:radio, television, cable, newspaper and outdoor. The System also allowsthe advertiser to use either System generated recommendations for mediaadvertising, based on the advertiser's industry, or to select its ownmedia advertising. The System provides a media selection tool thatincludes general information about each media type and industry. TheSystem also includes an internal list of media outlets in theappropriate markets that is used to route System generated e-mailnotifications and faxes to the respective media outlets. Throughout theselection and purchasing process, the System sends e-mail notificationsto the appropriate individuals (advertisers and media outlet managers)when action is to be taken. If there is no e-mail address for a mediaoutlet, a fax will automatically be sent notifying the media outlet thatthey have an action-required on the system. A more detailed descriptionof the process of the inventive media advertising selection andpurchasing method and system is as follows.

In an order initiation step 105 (FIGS. 1 and 2), an advertiser accessesthe Web site of the System 100 and sets up an account 102 by selectingthe “Register Now” icon on the Web site home page. This brings up a NewAdvertiser form that is completed online 104. Required informationgenerally includes company name, physical address, phone/fax numbers,e-mail address and contact name. Credit information is also requested.The advertiser provides a user name and password and upon verificationof the required information, the System assigns an internal accountnumber to the advertiser 106.

If the advertiser has logged on previously, it will enter its log-in IDand password 108 (FIG. 3). The advertiser accesses the Member Home page110 and either chooses a specific advertising medium, i.e., radio,television, cable, outdoor, or newspaper or goes to a general mediaselection page that will help with the decision process. When theappropriate icons are selected (radio, television, cable, outdoor ornewspaper), a Smart Form is displayed 112 (FIGS. 1 and 8A-D). The SmartForm illustrated in FIGS. 8A-D is an example only of the content that isgenerally found in a form of this type. It is not intended to beinclusive of the information contained in such a form.

At the next web page, the advertiser completes and submits a Smart Form(FIGS. 1 and 8A-D) to capture criteria based on the medium selected 114(FIG. 3). The advertiser fills out the form(s) online with informationregarding his type of advertising campaign, his customer profile,scheduling preferences (if any), target demographics, and allocatedbudget. Once the form is completed, the customer selects “Submit” andthe information is automatically input into a media software database.If the media choice is broadcast media, a media software database suchas TAPSCAN® or TVSCAN® or similar software is used 116 (FIG. 3). Thecustomer can also select “Clear” to cancel the request or begin theprocess again. The System saves the Smart Form data for each categorythat the advertiser has entered. For future purchases, the advertisercan choose to use the same applications as previously used or it canchoose to make changes to the Smart Form.

The System compiles the data from the Smart Form and generates a list ofmedia outlets for submitting rate requests. As discussed above, forbroadcast media selections, the System will take the informationcaptured in the Smart Form and feed this information into mediaselection software such as TAPSCAN® or TVSCAN® or similar software inorder to determine the most effective radio stations, televisionprograms or cable networks for the advertiser's advertising purposes 118(FIGS. 1 and 4). The list of cable networks, radio stations ortelevision programs and AQH ratings is then fed into a second module ofa software program that takes the list of networks and/or stations andrankings and selects out the top ranking networks and/or stations 120(FIGS. 1 and 4). For newspaper and outdoor outlets, the appropriatenewspaper or outdoor outlets are selected from an outdoor or newspaperadvertising database maintained by the System. If desired, an advertisercan exclude media outlets from the rate requests list. If no mediaoutlets are excluded, all appropriate media outlets in the advertiser'smarket (within the medium selected) will receive rate requests. From theSmart Form information, the System selects the media choices andrequests rates from the appropriate media outlets 121 (FIG. 1).

The System generates an e-mail or facsimile that is sent to the selectedmedia outlets with the rate request information 122 (FIG. 4). Forexample, with broadcast media such as radio, television and cable, theoutlets will be given the following information with which to submit itsrates: flight period, dayparts, days of week, excluded programming orstations, category of advertiser, respond by date information andcomments.

In the outlet rate submission step 107 (FIG. 1), the media outletreceives an e-mail or a facsimile notification from the System Web sitethat rates have been requested 109 (FIG. 1). The media outlet personnelaccess the Web site in order to view the outstanding rate requests. Themedia outlet employee for each media outlet then goes to the ratesubmission page on the Web site, fills out the rate submission form andsubmits it to the System through the Web site 124 (FIGS. 1 and 4). Themedia outlet rate submission page is a secure page, only accessible bythe media outlet personnel authorized to submit rates on behalf of itscompany. Also, upon submitting rates to the System, the media outlet isagreeing to provide media advertising at the rate submitted. For outdoormedia outlets, the appropriate outlet employee enters availablelocations and rates, and for the newspaper outlet, the appropriateoutlet employee enters rate information.

After the System receives the rate submission page from the mediaoutlet, it creates a schedule using a media planning module thatinterfaces with audience ratings and qualitative data 123 (FIG. 1). In apreferred embodiment, the System creates a “shell” schedule that isbased on buying criteria from the Smart Form that includes customerdemographics, budget or number of units requested (newspaper andoutdoor), and for broadcast media, frequency or reach levels, selecteddayparts and flight dates (start and finish dates of schedule) 126 (FIG.5). The rate information is then entered into media software such asTAPSCAN® or TVSCAN® or similar software 128 and schedules are generatedbased on the derived parameters 130 (FIG. 5).

Once the schedules are generated, the System converts the schedule to asimplified format and applies a simplified efficiency rating system tothe schedule 125 (FIG. 1). The simplified rating methodology evaluatesthe performance of each schedule in reaching the advertiser's targetcustomer and the degree of cost efficiency. Using the simplifiedmethodology, the cost per point achieved by each schedule is matchedwith the market average 132 (FIG. 6). The difference, plus or minus, isconverted to a percentage variance 134 (FIG. 6). The percentage ofvariance is applied and each schedule is assigned a numerical ratingbased on cost per point achieved relative to market average 136 (FIG.6). Market average is assigned a 5.5 numerical rating (or 100%) based ona scale of 1-10. The scale moves in 1.0 increments (11.11% each) andachieved cost per point levels are pinpointed based on the percentagevariation from the market average.

The higher the cost per point from the market average, the lessefficient the radio station, television station or cable networks are inreaching the target demographic; the lower the cost per point from themarket average, the more efficient the radio station, television stationor cable networks are in reaching the target demographic. For example,with a market average cost per point of $100, a $133 cost per pointwould be higher than average (inefficient) but a cost per point of $66would be lower than average (efficient). Numerical ratings areidentified by three categories, each representing 33.3% of the whole:Poor Efficiency, Good Efficiency, and Excellent Efficiency 138 (FIG. 6).The System then simplifies the schedules and produces a SimplifiedRating System Chart that generally shows only flight dates, spotallocation, average unit cost, weekly cost and a total budget asillustrated in FIG. 9. Accompanying each schedule is the SimplifiedRating System Chart that indicates the numerical rating and efficiencycategory that applies to the particular schedule 140 (FIG. 6).

The schedule is analyzed to insure that certain reach and frequencythresholds are achieved. If the reach or frequency is too high, theschedule will be recalculated and the full budget may not be used. Ifthe reach or frequency is too low, the advertiser will be notified thatit must increase its budget or decrease its flight period (for broadcastmedia) in order to have an effective campaign. The schedules aresubmitted to the advertiser by posting them in the advertiser's accountunder “Pending” along with the validation dates of the rates 142 (FIGS.1 and 7). The advertiser is notified via e-mail that its accountcontains posted schedules 144 (FIG. 7). The advertiser is notified onlywhen all media outlets have submitted their rates or when a specifiedtime period has expired. In a preferred embodiment, the e-mail to theadvertiser contains a link to the Web site.

In the advertiser's schedule confirmation step 111 (FIG. 1), theadvertiser logs on to the System Web site after receiving an ordernotification and accesses its account portfolio through its user nameand password 146 (FIG. 7). The advertiser evaluates the proposedorder(s) that has been developed and presented. As an example, forbroadcast media the order contains the proposed advertising schedules,for outdoor media the proposed location and rates, and for newspaperadvertising the proposed rates. Based on the advertiser's budget andSystem recommendation, the advertiser chooses the advertising campaignit feels is the most effective. The campaign can include only one of thefive different types of advertising medium: radio, television, cable,newspaper and outdoor, or any combination of the five. The advertiserviews a summary screen of all of its advertising selections and selectsthe “Purchase” icon for each desired schedule 148 (FIG. 7).

When the schedule is selected by the advertiser, it is agreeing to paythe selected media outlets for the submitted schedules and rates. In apreferred embodiment, the System allows the advertiser to select whetherit will provide its own creative services, it will be utilizing thecreative services of the media outlet or it will use the creativeservices available on the System Web site. After the advertiser haschosen its advertising schedules, the System records the purchase andsubmits the order to the media outlets 149 (FIG. 1). The System sends ane-mail or facsimile to the media outlets in the advertising campaignrequesting final rate and schedule approval 150 (FIG. 7). Preferably,the e-mail information sent to the media outlets includes a finaladvertising schedule, the advertiser's contact and credit information orcredit reference and the creative service option selected by theadvertiser.

In the outlet schedule acceptance step 113 (FIG. 1), after notificationby e-mail or fax of the accepted order, the media outlet personnel logsinto the System Web site, in order to review all outstanding orders. Theorder acceptance page is accessed, the media advertising schedule isreserved and the media outlet e-mails a confirmation back to the System152 (FIGS. 1 and 7). In a preferred embodiment, the media outletpersonnel can accept the order or accept the order with creditrestrictions, if they did not have credit information on the advertiserwhen they submitted their rates. When the System receives confirmationof the order from the media outlet, it sends an e-mail notification toboth the advertiser and the media outlet notifying them of the confirmedmedia purchase. Although each e-mail contains basically the sameinformation, the specific e-mails to the advertiser and media outletwill contain specific information pertaining to each of their respectivenext steps in the process. The e-mail generally includes informationrelating to the final schedule, contact information, final rate andcredit restrictions, if any. If the schedule is accepted withrestrictions by the media outlet, the System sends an e-mailnotification to the advertiser that restrictions were placed on theschedule based upon its credit status. The advertiser accesses the Website and accepts or rejects the credit restrictions. If rejected, theprocess stops. If accepted, the schedule is recorded: in theadvertiser's account portfolio 154 (FIG. 7) and the process continues inwhich the media outlets run the advertising schedules, and bill theadvertiser for the media advertising purchase.

The subject invention provides a method and system for selecting andpurchasing traditional media advertising over the Internet. It alsoprovides a method by which direct advertisers can access technical andanalytical data that has been converted to a simplified rating systemthus allowing them to make independent, accurate and informed decisionsabout their media purchases.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the presentinvention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the endsand advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein. The methodand system for selecting and purchasing media advertising over theInternet as described herein is presently representative of thepreferred embodiments, is exemplary and is not intended as limitationson the scope of the invention. Changes therein and other uses will occurto those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit ofthe invention and are defined by the scope of the claims.

1. A method of selecting and purchasing media advertising in auser/server environment accessed through a Web site using a media buyingprocess, comprising the steps of: an advertiser accessing a serversystem through a Web site and providing information relating to buyingcriteria and customer data through a Web page form in order to selectand purchase media advertising; the server system receiving theinformation, processing the information to select at least one mediaoutlet from a plurality of available media outlets thereby causing saidmedia buying process to have a reduced duration, and creating at leastone media advertising rate request directed to the at least one mediaoutlet; transmitting the at least one rate request to at least one mediaoutlet for processing; the at least one media outlet processing the raterequest and transmitting the processed rate request back to the serversystem; the server system manipulating the processed rate request tocreate a media advertising schedule wherein the schedule is presented ina simplified format by applying a rating system to the schedule andcreating numerical ratings and efficiency categories for the schedule;transmitting the media advertising schedule to the advertiser; theadvertiser receiving the schedule, making a media advertising purchasedecision and transmitting the purchase decision to the server system;and the server system transmitting the media advertising purchasedecision to the at least one media outlet for reserving the purchasedadvertising.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the media advertising forselecting and purchasing is selected from a group consisting of radio,television, cable, newspaper and outdoor media.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the information relating to the buying criteria is selectedfrom a group consisting of advertising campaign type, media choice,customer profile, scheduling preferences, target demographics andallocated budget.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the informationrelating to customer data is selected from a group consisting of companyname, physical address, telephone/facsimile numbers, e-mail address,contact name and credit information.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinprocessing of the information received from the advertiser includesfeeding the information into media selection software for determiningeffective media choices and for ranking the media choices.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the at least one rate request created includesinformation selected from the group consisting of flight period,dayparts, days of the week, excluded programming, excluded stations,category of advertiser, respond by date information, locations, andcomments.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing of the raterequest by the media outlet includes filling out a rate submission formon a Web page.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of therate request by the server system includes creating a shell schedulebased on the buying criteria, interfacing the shell schedule withaudience rating and qualitative data and creating the schedule based onselected parameters.
 9. A system for selecting and purchasing mediaadvertising in a user/server environment accessed through a Web site,using a media buying process, comprising: a server system accessible byan advertiser through a Web site in order to select and purchase mediaadvertising, the server system comprising; a receiving component forreceiving information from the advertiser relating to the advertiser'sbuying criteria and customer data in order to process the information toselect at least one media outlet from a plurality of available mediaoutlets thereby causing said media buying process to have a reducedduration, and create at least one media advertising rate requestdirected to the at least one media outlet; a media outlet transmittingand receiving component for transmitting the at least one rate requestto at least one media outlet and for receiving at least one processedrate request from the at least one media outlet; a schedule creatingcomponent for manipulating the processed rate request to create a mediaadvertising schedule and for presenting the schedule in a simplifiedformat by applying a rating system to the schedule and creatingnumerical ratings and efficiency categories for the schedule; and anadvertiser transmitting and receiving component for receiving andtransmitting information to and from the advertiser in order to allowthe advertiser to select and purchase media advertising.
 10. The systemof claim 9, wherein the media advertising for selecting and purchasingis selected from a group consisting of radio, television, cable,newspaper and outdoor media.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein theinformation relating to the buying criteria is selected from a groupconsisting of advertising campaign type, media choice, customer profile,scheduling preferences, target demographics and allocated budget. 12.The system of claim 9, wherein the information relating to customer datais selected from a group consisting of company name, physical address,telephone/facsimile numbers, e-mail address, contact name and creditinformation.
 13. A server system for selecting and purchasing mediaadvertising in a user/server environment accessed through a Web siteusing a media buying process, comprising: a receiving component forreceiving information from an advertiser relating to the advertiser'sbuying criteria and customer data in order to process the information toselect at least one media outlet from a plurality of available mediaoutlets thereby causing said media buying process to have a reducedduration, and create at least one media advertising rate requestdirected to the at least one media outlet; a media outlet transmittingand receiving component for transmitting the at least one rate requestto at least one media outlet and for receiving at least one processedrate request from the at least one media outlet; a schedule creatingcomponent for manipulating the processed rate request to create a mediaadvertising schedule and for presenting the schedule in a simplifiedformat by applying a rating system to the schedule and creatingnumerical ratings and efficiency categories for the schedule; and anadvertiser transmitting and receiving component for transmitting andreceiving information to and from the advertiser in order to allow theadvertiser to select and purchase media advertising.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the server system is accessed through a Web site bythe advertiser who provides information relating to buying criteria andcustomer data through a Web page form in order to select and purchasethe media advertising.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the mediaadvertising for selecting and purchasing is selected from a groupconsisting of radio, television, cable, newspaper and outdoor media.